Unfortunately the streaming hub(s) are the future. Eventually, in the next ten years, one of these Marvel/SW films will debut on this channel and movie theaters will be largely ornamental.

But about the show - curious. Less excited for this than the films. I have doubts about the proposition of SW in a TV format, for a lot of reasons. The animated shows clearly do very well, but they are not limited as such by a budget. Does SW lose what makes it SW if you take the budget all the way down? Is my idea of a budget different now? ST:DIscovery spends something like 7/8 million an episode and functionally is a movie every week. So maybe this is all moot.

Shockingly this news seems to be sorta flying under the radar some, but for me this is as interesting (if not more) than the announcement of a new Trilogy, and I was flipping my wig over a new series of films!

I've not watched Gotham religiously, and I'm not a Super Hero fanatic, but the shows and things for Marvel and stuff seem really nicely done, and I'm anxious to see what can be done with Star Wars. I'm really hoping it's the rumored underworld focus. This is an interesting thing to watch and see how it plays out. Disney has boundaries they don't appear to like to cross much at all, but I'm anxious to see if they'll take Star Wars outside itself with something grittier and edgier.

This sounds promising for sure, but fraught with potential missteps. Production quality will have to remain high no matter what. That doesn't necessarily mean epic space battles every episode though. They could go a long way on the BSG model, with a lot of dark interior sets that don't cost much to maintain. The Coruscant underworld is pretty ripe for mining good stories.

I guess I would prefer something more akin to GoT (in terms of quality writing, actors, etc) moreso than the something that looks more like a WB show where every actor is beautiful and under 25. I could not watch that.

And please no cute animal sidekicks!

Logged

I promise you I will not entertain you in the hallway, and do not attempt to walk with me

Probably because "Live Action Star Wars is coming to TV" has been a thing since what, 2006?

I'm not going to take this serious until they start cranking out some concrete details on the era it's taking place, the subject of the show, the cast, show-runner, etc. They have been trying to get a Star Wars TV show off the ground for years and years. Can't get excited about it until its a bit more real...

I'd normally have agreed on that and the thought crossed my mind, but that was all Lucas and his unending dreaming. Much like teased video games from a dying entity, it became just talk. This though is Disney, and Iger specifically, and so far they've not given the lip service or just been dreaming out loud.

Lucas always had his logistical issues with it and other excuses. To my mind this is a whole new ball of wax being that it is now Disney saying this is a thing and is happening in conjunction with their streaming service. Short of that falling through, of course.

I feel like this is a much more concrete thing than Lucas was trying for. I'm just curious if it's going to be at all related to what he wanted to do or not.

That original Star Wars live action show was supposed to revolve around the whole "Star Wars 1313" concept, which was going to be set in the underworld of Coruscant and may have involved a young Boba Fett. That was the one that Rick McCallum was working on, but from a budget standpoint they just could not make it work. Granted, that was over 10 years ago. And production values for TV series have advanced dramatically, and movie quality production in prime time cable and TV series are much more feasible now.

As for this new television series? I've suspected that a new TV series was in the works ever since the announcement came that REBELS would be ending. And there seemed to be rumblings that another animated TV series might be in development following the end of REBELS, with a new series set in the 30 some odd years between the Battle of Endor and the events of THE FORCE AWAKENS.

Interestingly, as REBELS begins its final season I have seen a good deal of praise directed towards showrunner Dave Filoni, with a lot of people recognizing his very close working relationship with George Lucas during the production of CLONE WARS. Now I'm seeing people talking about the possibility of Filoni being a creative force behind this new series. I do see the potential challenges of someone making the leap from animation to live action. But I've also seen a great deal of positive feedback from the actors who have worked on REBELS and CLONE WARS about their experiences working with Dave Filoni, and his penchant for strong storytelling, along with his knowledge base in Star Wars.

And then there's the matter of HOW do they pull off a tv series. I think a shorter run, like we see on cable and streaming services is the way to go. A 10 or 12 episode run per season works if you're going for an hour long show. Considering the fact that Disney will be looking at this show as a centerpiece of their new streaming service? They need to deliver a good show. I am a little annoyed that this wouldn't be on one of the bigger streaming service like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. But then Bob Iger did say quite deliberately that Disney was going to price their platform so that it would be cheaper than Netflix. And with Star Wars and Marvel content as centerpieces of the platform? I might have good reason to sign up.

So what ground would the story cover? That seems to be the big question. Does it cover the Dark Times between ROTS and ANH? What about the period between ROTJ and TFA, where the fight between the Rebellion and the Empire was going to draw to an end? Some people seem to want such a series to go back in time to the era of KOTOR. The questions seem endless at this point

I'd normally have agreed on that and the thought crossed my mind, but that was all Lucas and his unending dreaming. Much like teased video games from a dying entity, it became just talk. This though is Disney, and Iger specifically, and so far they've not given the lip service or just been dreaming out loud.

Lucas always had his logistical issues with it and other excuses. To my mind this is a whole new ball of wax being that it is now Disney saying this is a thing and is happening in conjunction with their streaming service. Short of that falling through, of course.

I feel like this is a much more concrete thing than Lucas was trying for. I'm just curious if it's going to be at all related to what he wanted to do or not.

When George was still in the mix, it was all still his company. And he had to look at the organization challenges, the financial end as well as the creative direction of EVERYTHING. I would venture a guess that he may have been overwhelmed by it all. I think the current company structure lets someone like Bob Iger focus on the big picture and corporate issues. Kathleen Kennedy can focus more on the creative direction.

As for the financial end? I think Disney gives Star Wars even more financial security in pursuing projects like this. There are simply more revenue streams. Disney has opened up licensing options to bring in more money. And having just spent a week at a Disney park? They are absolutely making the most of Star Wars on those properties, too. That kind of revenue stream just was not there for Star Wars before. But in the Disney era, it's a big draw. I saw countless people with Star Wars t-shirts in the parks. Continuing to create new Star Wars content will keep bringing fans to the table for Disney.

Filoni rightly deserves a lot of praise for being, probably, the most stable guiding force for the franchise as it transitioned from Lucas to Disney. He's an outstanding director and writer, and he's become a real custodian of the story. I can see a potential live action series from Filoni involving Ahoska in some way, though there may be a desire to steer away from the CW era in general in favor of more uncharted territory. I think a series set between ROTJ and TFA is inevitable, but there are probably films destined for this period. Considering that the show will debut after IX, there may be a show set in the ST era to 1) take advantage of the existing sets, props etc. and also because that particular story involving the FO and Resistance may be left in some state of flux.

Disney chief Bob Iger was doing some press today in conjunction with Disney's corporate earnings announcements. And he had some things to say about Star Wars:

Disney working on ‘a few’ Star Wars series exclusive to stand-alone streaming service

No more information at this timeBy Julia Alexander Feb 6, 2018, 5:16pm EST

Multiple Star Wars series are in the works exclusively for Disney’s upcoming stand-alone streaming service, Disney CEO Bob Iger said today.

Iger made the announcement during an investor call when asked about Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ involvement in a new series of Star Wars films. Iger said Benioff and Weiss did not express an interest in working on a Star Wars television series, but instead wanted to develop multiple films based on a moment in Star Wars mythology.

“Their interest was in creating a series of films that are Star Wars-based, and we’ve actually been talking to them for a long time,” Iger said. “They’re focused on a point in time in Star Wars mythology, and we’re taking it from there.

In addition, Iger said there are “a few Star Wars series specifically” being created for Disney’s upcoming app. Iger didn’t provide any information about any of the series — including whether they’re live-action or animated — but did say that once a deal is finalized on the first series, Disney will make an announcement. The CEO added that “talent on the television front is significant,” and said people will be pleased with the creators the company is talking to.

The news of additional series comes just a few months after Disney confirmed that a live-action Star Wars series, which will be exclusive to the stand-alone streaming app, was in development.

Disney’s stand-alone streaming service will launch in late 2019, Iger said today. The company has not given a subscription price at this time, but the service is expected to cost significantly less than Netflix’s standard $10.99-per-month subscription.